Tattoo ideas and a singing rabbit loves Queen

I designed this myself using Photoshop and Windows Paint. Originally it was used on a contact table for my account at MySpace but I was impressed with how it turned out.... I've always been of nautical stars.

Now, where would I put it? Well, obviously not on my back because what's the point of getting some killer ink done. Maybe on the inside of my forearm.

I've much respect and admiration the British military, it's history and tradition. This tattoo idea, a regimental crest I believe is of Her Majesty's Royal Lancers, signifies "death or glory." This too would go on my inner arm. Maybe opposite the nautical star skull.

What's next? Maybe a samurai one...?

+++++++++++++++++++
Now this is cute.

videos-a-go-go

Miss Take by The Horropops

Galaxy 500 by the Reverend Horton Heat

It's Martini Time! by the Reverend Horton Heat

Big Sky by the Reverend Horton Heat

Berries and Cream

Today was a relatively wasteful day. Goddamned Cingular shit is on the fritz and Time-Warner digital phone and cable TV is down. I swear, Roadrunner is a pussy when it comes to harsh weather.

Ah well. At least I'm online. And at least the rain is cheering me up.

This morning I visited my father at his grave. I didn't stay for more than 10 minutes. I'm getting bored of visiting him.

"But Gabriel! How can you say such a thing?! He was your father!"

Yes well, I may have loved him like a father but I didn't like him as a person. We never really bonded, plus he was the first to voice his extreme reluctance and displeasure in my desire to visit someone's grave back in 1998. Since then we were somewhat estranged. So yes, there are some unresolved emotional issues. Mind you, I didn't hate the guy but I'm not going to lie. He was a dick and a jerk.

Anyway, here is something for those who can appreciate unusual TV ads.

Ohhh oh oh. berries and creme. Berries and creme. I'm the little lad who likes berries and creme. (fast) berries and creme. berries and creme. I'm the little lad who likes berrrrrries and creme!

Who knew that travelling, time-displaced Elizabethan men loved candy?

Black eyeliner, patchouli and drinking in the dark

Insomnia sucks. Depression sucks. Transcendental ennui sucks.

I woke up and now I cannot get back to bed. I've an appointment tomorrow at 8 (or 9?) I forget. So I d/l'ed some goth music and listened to them until I was relaxed enough to sleep.

Dead Can Dance, Sisters of Mercy, Black Tape for a Blue Girl, Christian Death, This Mortal Coil... God, how I miss going out to goth clubs. Smelling the acrid yet sweet smell of clove cigarettes. Being surrounded by the energy of clubgoers. Listening to the DJ spin his songs from above me. The black light. The disco ball. The smoke machine. How I miss the wonderful smell of patchouli. Ever since my first girlfriend died from Lupus in 1998, I've slowly interest. Moreso as the years progressed the scene in NYC became TOO pretentious and overrun with metal heads and emo bitches. The clincher came when some of my friends moved out of state, some died and some just disappeared.

I miss dressing up and going to the clubs to sit in a corner and talking to my friends. Heather, Adam, Richie, Mikey, Crumble, Tasha, Grigor, Andrea, Fred, Kevin, Bernadette, Rachel, Robbie, Nate, Trevor and the DJ Joanna Constantine, DJ Dread and DJ Wilhelm.

I miss the late dinner video game sessions with Adam, Kev and Rob. I miss hanging out at a diner with the gang until 4 am. I miss those long, lonely subway rides at night with Heather.

I'd sign up to Yahoo groups or Meetup.com but I don't know... I'm not the type who makes friends easily unless I feel that "vibe." Plus nowadays, most goths now are just phonies who listen to HEAVY METAL, don't know the meaning of literature or art or history, are emo whiny bitches or deviant S&M vampire-wannabes.

I was told by someone (whom I trust very much and for some reason is now a trance DJ in Seattle), that Albany has a pretty decent scene. I must remember to look into this soon when I make the move next year.
Publish Post
Ahh, to be back in the dark life once more.

Thoughts on Albany and Yes, I used to be a fighting game nerd...

I can't wait to get my ass to Albany next year. I visited it during my spring break and I absolutely loved it! It's like a... Ahh.. well. A big town/little city version of Manhattan. Rent is certainly cheaper. A HUGE 1 bedroom apartment, fireplace, wood floors goes for arond 850 a month!! Here such a place would be 5000 to 7000 in Queens and 3-4 times that amount in Manhattan. Though I still somethings think back to Seattle. Early last year, I was considering visiting it for spring break but I was too much of weiner to follow through. Oh well....

__________________________________________________________________

I used to be a fighting game nerd.... And I'm damn proud. This was the 2nd best thing to having a real fight. Street Fighter, King of Fighters, Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, Soul Calibur, Tekken, Virtua Fighter, Guilty Gear... I played them all and had fun losing and winning.

Here is footage from a tournament which is the best example of how much fun a fighting game can be in the hands of a professional gamer.

What do writers dream of when they're mourning?

I woke up in tears and in utter grief due to an odd dream. I dreamt I was in the living room with my mother watching TV. All of a sudden, the front door open. In walks my dad smiling.

He tells us he was cloned and was waiting for the right moment to surprise us.

*sigh*

Either God is fucking with me again, or this is a way the subconcious of aspiring horror/sci-fi writers deal with the death of a loved one.

Say no to Beijing 2008!

Here is an interesting journal dedicating to the boycott. And here is another. Olympic Watch: Human Rights in China & Beijing in China.

A quote I found on a British blog sums up the general attitude about holding the Olympics in mainland China.

"Can't drink the water. Can't breathe the air. Site of a massacre by its dictatorship which thinks people are too stupid to vote but any idiot can drive through red lights and spit everywhere. Yes, Beijing would be a perfect site for the Olympics...."

And no, it is not racist. I reside in a part of NYC called Flushing, a city in the borough of Queens. Many Chinese in Flushing are mainland Chinese and they spit, they pick their nose in public, break wind, squat on the sidewalks, flagrantly disobey traffic laws and convert homes/apartments into illegal, squalid dwellings to overcharge other Chinese.

It's not a surprise that Chinese from Hong Kong, Taiwan and those born here show open disdain for their "country cousins." So much so, I've seen fights break out between mainland Chinese and non-mainlander. They're embarrased that such a cruel country run by "ill-educated mountain pigs" is hosting a prestigious event given the nation's blood soaked history.

And to think... People are quick to judge America. Yes, the USA has its flaws but China is far, far worse.

• The Olympics are being held in a country who has numerous human rights violations that continue to this very day in fact!

• Did you know that 300,000 people had been forced to resettle by the Chinese government?

• Or what about the fact that China supports Omar al-Bashir the originator of the Dafur genocide that the UN so casually ignored?

• What about the active and violent oppression of the Falun Dafa, a religious sect which is VERY far from the idea of a cult?

• Or prison camps in which people are killed and their organs harvested?

While talking on YIM to a friend, he sent me an interesting list he found online as to why the Olympics in China should be boycotted....

---

1. Human rights are practically non-existent in Communist China Religious persecution, imprisonment and murder of non-violent political dissidents, torture, organ harvesting and sentences to hard labour are widespread.
   
   
2. The lack of freedom of the press and safety risks for foreign reporters Many foreign websites are banned from being visited within China, foreign reporters are prohibited from interviewing anyone without previous permission from the government, and the content of all broadcasting is severely restricted. Foreign news media reporters have been arrested and sentenced to prison under vague and wide-reaching security laws.
   
   
3. The 1980 Olympic Games in Communist Russia were boycotted by 64 states, under the leadership of the U.S. Beijing is not any different from Moscow in 1980, which was also the capital of a Communist police state.
   
   
4. Communist China constantly threatens to attack Taiwan China's government passed a law that explicitly calls for military intervention in response to any intention by the democratic government of Taiwan to declare independence. Military manoeuvres indicate that the Communists' military is preparing to enforce this law.
   
   
5. Beijing has the most polluted air in the world when compared to the United States and the Soviet Union. Studies and satellites photos have proven that Beijing suffers from extremely high nitrogen dioxide levels, vitally dangerous to the health of the athletes.
   
   
6. China is plagued by widespread social, political, and economic unrest A surge in huge land grabs and forced evictions by the Chinese government for reasons of economic expansion and Olympic Games preparations have sparked thousands of protests. The government has murdered hundreds of protesters.
   
   
7. The Chinese have been bribing and threatening large numbers of members of the International Olympic Committee A number of U.S. Representatives, for example, Congressman Tom Lantos, have stated this on national television.
   
   
8. A boycott has some potential to serve as a strategy to encourage human rights in China Only the greedy and foolish global elite think this is true the other way around.
   
   
9. Holding the Olympic Games in Communist China contradicts the Olympic Charter The Olympic Charter defines the philosophy of Olympism as the "respect for universal fundamental ethical principles" and its goal of promoting "a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity."
   
   
10. Don't repeat the errors of 1936 when Nazi Germany was allowed to host the Olympic Games The Olympic Games will give Communist China the same propaganda tool Nazi Germany enjoyed. Not since 1936 have the ideals of Olympics been so trampled upon.

---

How's that for food for thought? Or rather... Dim sum.

It keeps getting better and better!

My day gets better and better. At a store shopping for taco shells, I came across a DVD of an old kung-fu movie. "Kung Fu from beyond the Grave." I remember this very well. It was fun movie mixing chinese horror and martial arts. It was the first movie my father rented for me back in 1984. And for a dollar! Naturally I had to buy it.

---

Another voice from the past. My friend Jack's girlfriend, Jessica, was kind enough to send a message to someone confirming my suspicions about his identity.

AND IT WAS HIM! Aaron Proctor, one of the coolest neo-romantics I know, has emailed me. I stopped talking to him and several other people in 2001 after several traumatic events forced me to just emotionally and socially shutdown and shut out everybody.

Now as to how I found him... I had stopped by Jack's to play City of Heroes on his gf's laptop because hewanted to have me online in a mini LAN party of sorts. Anyway, we got careless and were overrun by serpent men. Suffice it to say, it was a slaughter. He logged off and went to the kitchen to make some sandwiches. I'm browsing the web on the laptop and I decided to watch some goth and new wave vids on YouTube.

I begin to watch The Damned's Smash it up and the faintest of memories stir in the back of my head. It's odd because the numerous times I've watched that vid, nothing came to mind.

I suddenly think, "Whatever happened to my friend Aaron?" I decided to Google his first name, the call letters of the wrestling federation I thought he joined and pro-wrestling. BOOM. I found his MySpace account.

I ask Jessica to msg. Aaron asking whether he's the same Aaron I knew from 2000-2001. Jack was convinced I was looking up old bullying victims. Silly schmuck.

Imagine my surprise when it turns out to be the SAME Aaron! Oh my god. I was so happy, I was on the verge of tears. It's just that type of joy one gets when... When.. Well you know. When you see a friend you've not seen in so many years.

He was.... No... IS one of the coolest guys I know. We caught up for a bit before my time on the computer at the NYU library was over. I must remember to email him back tonight.

Turns out he ran for Mayor of Pasadena and gotten a good chunk of the votes and now he is some sort Human Relations director or something. I'll have to ask about that. He's also worked on several movies as a director and a head cinematographer.

But anyway, how cool is this?! I've reconnected with 2 friends from the past. I'm going to save up $$ so I can visit him out in Cali in the future.

Weird dreams

While talking about the Silent Hill games with my friend Chris, I was reminded of some odd dreams I used to have a kid in the 80s. And NO, I didn't watch any horror movies back then.

• an abandoned floor in an old apartment building. rubbish everywhere. dust. cobwebs. bizarre scrawlings on the walls
• bloodied shopping carts with.. with.. well. do the math. shopping carts slick with blood
• seeing indescribable things at the far, far, far, FAR end of a hallway. blobs, vaguely humanoid things and shadows
• me jumping down the stairs 6, 7 steps at a time
• strangling a shadow in a closet
• sitting in a rocking chair and being angry at something rattling in a large box that was chained up

I never knew what to make of them years ago and I still don't know

Meh

Yesterday I took the plunge and sent a lengthy letter to Moonstone Books. Just like with Dark Horse, Penny Farthing and Oni Press, it's time for Gabriel to play the waiting game. Someone also suggested Wizard of the Coast.

That one is going to be slightly tougher. I know nothing about writing mods or roleplaying supplements and it's been yeeeeeeeeears since I played Dungeons & Dragons let alone any other tabletop RPG.

I got homework to do but apathy and boredom is keeping me from starting them.

Happy Cat!

Sandwich world - Eggy in a basket variant

Being a casual populist, an apathetic moderate, a disenchanted anarchist, a disillusioned liberal, a disgruntled conservative I simply had to tune in to Cinemax and watch "V for Vendetta." I read the book years ago when I was younger and it had a profound effect on my outlook on life.

I won' bore you with the details but suffice it to say... Political apathy is my best friend.

Anyway, at one point in the movie Codename: V is making breakfast. He was grilling a slice of wheat bread in a skillet and had cracked an egg into a hole which was cut in the middle of said bread. Why does this sound familiar? Ahhh, of course. It was made in the movie "Moonstruck."
Being easily swayed by movies and something of an amateur cook myself, I decided to make it.

Of course with some changes. I'm quite pleased with my lunch and so here is the recipe for all of you.


1 slice of German dark wheat bread (or something similar; dark wheat bread has such a robust hearty taste)
Olive oil
1 one egg
Oregano
Cilantro
Onion & garlic powder
Prosciutto
Provolone cheese, 1 slice
Black pepper

1. Heat the skillet, pour in the oil and make sure it's an even coat.
2. Lower the head to slightly below medium. Sprinkle the onion & garlic powder. Liberally if you wish.
3. I prefer to scramble egg because sunnyside up always grosses me up. So if you decide to scramble it, mix in the oregano and freshly cut cilantro into the egg
4. NEATLY and SLOWLY cut a hole in the middle of the bread.
5. Place the sliced bread onto the frying pan and gently move it about with a spatula.
6. When you're satisified at how toasted the bread is, pour the egg mixture into the hole.
7. The egg may rise so carefully press down on the bread to keep it from seeping it our scoop up the runoff and place it back on the egg.
8. Flip it over
9. Once the egg is properly cooked, place a slice of cheese on the toast and shut off the head
10. Place the sandwich on a plate, sprinkle pepper on the egg and then place the prosciutto on it.
    
11. Let it cool for a few seconds as the egg's heat will melt the cheese. The cheese will congeal but still will be warm.
12. Serve with your favorite beverage and enjoy!

Btw, I think the movie was so-so. The Warchowski brothers (spelling?) REALLY changed the story. Where was the message of classical anarchy versus fascism? Stupid assholes.

Yet again Alan Moore gets screwed again. Anyway, here's something you might find interesting. Anarchism vs Fascism on Wikipedia's entry on the book.

-